Chelsea Opera Group have just announced the 3 operas which they are performing next season. After my rather jaded reaction to the Royal Opera's new booking period (December to April), COG's season came like a breath of fresh air.
COG specialise in concert performances of operas not being performed currently in London. At the moment, this means we get a lot of Bel Canto, which is nice.
On Sat. 24th November they are doing Donizetti's Maria Stuarda at the Cadogan Hall, with Majella Cullagh in the title role. The opera has not been seen in London, I believe, since the ENO production mounted for Anne Murray. Notable for its lovely Jasper Conran costumes, it does not seem to have been revived (I understand for economic reasons).
On Sat. 29th March 2008 the group returns to the Queen Elizabeth Hall (hurrah!), for a performance of Verdi's original 1847 version of Macbeth with Nelly Miricioiu as the Lady and Brad Cohen conducting. This version of the opera has not been seen in London since the semi-staged production at Covent Garden just prior to closing. A promised revival of the current production but using the 1847 text never seemed to materialise. I've always been fond of this version, with its rather dour ending and rather more showy arias for the Lady. Do try the Opera Rara CD set from the BBC with Rita Hunter as the Lady.
The final opera of their season is Massenet's Cendrillon on Sat. 1st June 2008 , again at the Queen Elizabeth Hall. I know this opera has been done by the colleges but I'm not sure its ever feature at the Coliseum or Covent Garden, though WNO did once have a notable production.
So all in all, a magical trio of operas. Significantly, Bel Canto features highly as it seems out of favour on our London stages at the moment. Covent Garden do provide us with the odd morsel, but Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini have become something of a rarity in St. Martin's Lane. Though this seems, perhaps, set to change as they are doing a new Lucia di Lamermoor at the Coliseum in February.
Tuesday 14 August 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts this month
-
Jonathan Dove: The Monster in the Maze - Anthony Flaum & youth chorus - Music in the Round (Photo: Andy Brown) Jonathan Dove: The Monst...
-
Gilbert & Sullivan: Ruddigore - Dominic Sedgwick - Opera North, 2024 (Photo: © Richard H Smith) Gilbert & Sullivan: Ruddigore : Amy...
-
Jean de Reszke as Siegfried (c. 1896) Wagner: Siegfried; Colin Judson, Brad Cooper, Simon Thorpe, Stephan Loges, Thomas D Hopkinson, Louise ...
-
Bernstein: A Quiet Place - Henry Neill, Elgan Llyr Thomas - Royal Ballet & Opera (Photo: Marc Brenner/ROH) Bernstein: Trouble in Tahiti...
-
Wagner: Die Walküre - The London Opera Company, November 2023 London Opera Company presented a full-scale performance of Wagner's Die ...
-
Birmingham Triennial Music Festival at the Town Hall Mendelssohn: Elijah ; Carolyn Sampson, Sarah Connolly, Andrew Staples, Simon Keenlyside...
-
Britten: The Turn of the Screw - Ailish Tynan - English National Opera, 2024 (Photo: Manuel Harlan) Britten: The Turn of the Screw ; Ailish...
-
Slide Action (Photo: Matt Jolly) Formed in 2018, the trombone quartet Slide Action (Huw Evans, Jamie Tweed, Benny Vernon and Josh Cirtina) ...
-
Title page of the "Bassus Generalis" for one of the partbooks in which the Vespers were published in 1610 Monteverdi: Vespers of 1...
-
Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream - James Newby, Peter Kirk, Siân Griffiths, Camilla Harris - Opera North, 2024 (Photo: © Richard Hube...
No comments:
Post a Comment